


The True Meaning of Mother's Day

by SaraJaye



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Families of Choice, Foster Family, Gen, Hugs, Keith Fostered by the Holts AU, Mother's Day, Mother-Son Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-02 08:25:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18807415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: For years, Keith remembered feeling left out while the other kids made macaroni art and pipe cleaner flowers for their mothers. He never knew what he was really missing out on until the Holts took him in.





	The True Meaning of Mother's Day

For as long as he could remember, he sat quietly in a corner watching his classmates make Mother's Day presents. Sometimes it was him and one or two other kids, but the years Keith remembered most vividly were the years he alone sat in a corner doing homework or reading a book while everyone else glued sparkles and macaroni onto construction paper, or twisted pipe cleaners until they looked like flowers.

At fifteen, he was about to celebrate his first Mother's Day ever and he wasn't sure whether he was excited or nervous. Even if Colleen had thought of him as another son even before they took him in as a foster, was it weird to give her a present? He'd declined Sam's offer to sign the adoption papers, because of some silly crush on his foster brother that Matt probably didn't even return. So he was only her _almost-_ kid.

Picking a present had been easy once Sam told him to just go with something "from the heart," and Sam had been glad to give him a copy of the photo they'd taken at the moon base, the day Keith officially became a part of their family. He'd taken him shopping for just the right frame, too.

It was perfect. From the heart, a moment the whole family would remember, something that meant the world to all of them.

But he was nervous, because he'd never given a Mother's Day gift in his life and he didn't know what to expect. What if she cried, like the moms on TV? He didn't mind comforting Katie or Matt when they cried, he'd even seen Shiro tear up, but parents crying was a whole different thing.

He watched Colleen open everyone else's presents as he held his own close to his chest. A beautiful necklace from Sam, plus the promise of some alone time that afternoon. Flowers from Matt, growing in a galaxy-themed pot with the text _Mom is out of this world_ on the side. A "good for one day of mother-daughter bonding wherever Mom wants to go" card from Katie.

(Even shopping for clothes, she'd said. _She's taken me to the science museum so many times, I owe her one._ )

"Now it's your turn, Keith." Matt smiled, squeezing his shoulder. "It's okay, don't be shy." Keith swallowed, holding out the package to her.

"Here...I hope you like it." He watched her carefully take off the paper, open the box...and her eyes widened. For a moment she didn't say anything, and his heart pounded. _Too much? Too little?_ Even Katie's offer, which had shocked her, had gotten a reaction from her instantly. "I-I just thought maybe-"

Colleen carefully set it aside, next to the rest of the gifts, and hugged him so tightly he could barely breathe.

"I love you, and I've never been happier to call you my son than I am right now." She was crying, and to his embarrassment, that got Keith crying, too. Even if he'd cried in front of the Holts before, it would never not be embarrassing.

But she liked it. That alone made him feel better. Keith hugged her back, sniffling into her shoulder. All those years of feeling left out because he wasn't gluing macaroni onto paper or making bendy flowers, he'd never once thought of _this_ part of Mother's Day. Knowing that even the littlest thing given from love and appreciation could make your mother happy.

"I love you too. I'll never be able to thank you enough for taking me in." He smiled a little, looking up at her. "... _Mom._ "

He didn't need a special day to appreciate Colleen Holt, but he was glad today was a chance to do so even more.


End file.
